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I am a beginner and I want to get a digital keyboard. I know absolutely nothing about these things so I'm not sure which ones are good. I went to Costco recently and it seems like they are selling a Yamaha DGX505 88-keyboard for $600ish.

Since I know nothing, I hope someone can tell me whether this is a good keyboard and whether this is a good price for it. I know I am a beginner so I don't exactly need a really really high-tech and what-not keyboard. Should I go with instead something less expensive?

DGX505 may not have weighted keys. if you want to eventually move onto pianos, you need to get a digital piano with weighted keys (which simulates the acoustic piano keyboard). you can get a cheap digital piano (with weighted keys) for $600 or less, such as Casio PX100 (which BestBuy has), but it may not be as great as some more expensive brand/models. so, check out the specs for each digital piano/keyboard, and try to play on any one available to see if you like the feel of it before making any decision on buying one.

Originally posted by teth: Is BestBuy a good place to buy keyboards btw? [/b]

I dont think Best Buy will have the digital pianos with the good weighted key action. Go to a Guitar Center (really!), they will have a good choice. Other actual musical instrument stores likely will too, but probably less selection and it is variable. Look at something like the Yamaha P120 (about $1200), at least look for a comparison to anything else. Its sort of the current standard in this regard. You may want to add external speakers for any of these, but this can be added any later time.

The choice really depends only on your goal. If you want to take lessons and be a serious piano student, you really want the weighted keys. I am making that assumption for you. But if not, then maybe not.

I'm near end of my first year, and I bought a $300 DGX202 at first, just to test the waters, to be sure I was interested in learning piano. That was a good plan for that purpose, if it turned out I wasnt really interested, thats enough expense. But I was, and then it was only good enough for 3 months, until I got where I could play some, when the unweighted (toylike) key feel became a big issue. Simply very far from being like a real acoustic piano.

So I sold it and got a P90 (like a P120, but without internal speakers), which is very close to the real piano feel. These particular digital piano models wont have the hundreds of other voices, or the accompaniment features, that even $200 keyboards have. They do have a few options, but basically they just have great piano sound and right feel, for a good price, considering.

i saw Casio PX100 at BestBuy not long ago for $500, if you could afford that. otherwise, get at least a better keyboard with at least touch sensitive/response option, which would at least give you an opportunity to play now. Check out Yamaha PSR serious models (especially latest one), which may cost around $200-300 something depending on number of keys as well.

in case you do want to spend $600 or so, get a digital piano with weighted keys at least, not DGX505.

DGX505 will give you a lot of fun and hours of enjoyment with the many features it has. But you cannot seriously play piano on it because of the key feel. If your goal is to have fun with all kinds of instrument sounds, MIDI files, and accompaniment backing, this is a very entertaining keyboard.

CasioPX100 will feel much more like a real piano than the Yamaha, but won't have all the fun stuff on it. It's probably the least expensive digital piano with a piano feel. If your goal is to learn to play piano, this would be a good starter keyboard for you.

If you want to go to a discount store like Best Buy or Costco, don't expect anyone there to know anything about the keyboards. You need to go to a real music store like Guitar Center or Sam Ash and talk to someone who knows the keyboards and can explain the pros and cons of each to you so that you can make a good decision.

Good luck and have fun. I'm sure once you've made your purchase, you will find your new venture into music-making a real joy.

Originally posted by teth: Hmmm. But see the thing is though, I don't think I can afford the P90 at the moment (not especially when I don't know if I will definitely be a committed student). [/b]

That was exactly my case at first too. I simply had no clue what learning the piano was about. I assumed I might not stick with it, because many do not. So my idea was to get in real cheap to better learn what the situation was about, and to learn enough to better judge my interest. If my interest was real, then pay the price to fix it. If not, then I was only out a minor expense.

I know some will disagree, but in this context, frankly, the DGX500 is overkill in price, because its keyboard is still not a proper solution. It really only differs in the frills instead of the important key action. The lowest DGX or even 61 key PSR will suit that same purpose too, at first.

There are many basics to learn at first, we are not playing concerts yet. We are trying to learn to read the note as an A, and then trying to find the A key. We're trying to devlop a little finger control and dexterity. So at first, it just needs to have a few keys of any kind. A beginner wont know the difference at first.

I bought a low end DGX first, which was nice, but if I had it to do over, I'd spend less. A $230 Yamaha PSR293 is 61 keys, but otherwise essentially the same model and features as the low end DGX. So in that way, it is the same solution as the DGX500 in regard to this short learning test. 61 keys will be plenty for quite a long time, no problem. It's been a year, and I have not been near the ends yet. If it is about playing piano, the real issue is the good weighted keys. (and sound becomes an issue too)

My only surprise was that this short test was much shorter than I imagined, because the proper weighted key feel was an important factor. It became a problem in 3 months, but until then, I didnt know the difference. Sure, I could have used it longer, but the keys were becoming a very noticeable issue, not fun.

I priced my first keyboard for a quick sale, and lost 1/3 on it, but that's really a minor expense for the purpose. It was a planned expense, I knew at the start it would be sold one way or the other, I just didnt know the reason yet. I think it was a good plan. It was sure worth it to me, it did a lot to help me learn what my goal was. It would have seemed far worse to spend a lot more with the same result.